


Tired

by XV_ictorious



Category: Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-04
Updated: 2020-05-04
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:15:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24006457
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/XV_ictorious/pseuds/XV_ictorious
Summary: Given the corruption spread through the kingdom by the Accurst Queen, Pardoner Fennel must wrestle with her own feelings of faith and hatred.





	Tired

As I stand at the altar, scrubbing away the corruption that still lingers there from the last who fell victim to our Queen’s cruel subjugation, the commanding voice of my sister slithers up my neck and into my ears. “What good is that going to do, Fennel? The more you try to deny the Queen’s blessings, the more anguish you put our people through. Lord Esselin hasn’t listened to our prayers once in the year since this began, and he won’t start now.”

“That’s enough, Choir. You have no business here in this monastery if all you’re going to do is take our Lord’s name in vain.” I don’t look up. I keep scrubbing the altar. He’ll still listen. There’s still time. The foul stench of disease wafts into my nose. Hints of a deep purple and pale pink still stain what used to be a holy site. “Now, if you’ve any interest in praying, you’re welcome to join me.” Standing upright, I clutch my tissue into my chest and turn to face my apostate sister. She stands with her arms crossed, tapping her foot against the tile. The clacking of her shoe recoils off the cathedral. She glares at me, unfolding her arms. Her hands fold into fists. The blue bonnet on her head shades her face from me.

“I’m not going to sit by while my sister clings to faith in a god who abandoned her.” She unclenches her fists now. “Please Fennel. Why must you ignore what is clearly in front of you?” Walking closer to me, she reaches her hand out, the sleeve of her deep blue dress dangles toward the ground. “Can’t you see that the Queen is really who holds power? Lord Esselin has done nothing for us.”

I swat her hand away. “Do you mean to tell me that you now worship that vile witch? Look at what she’s done to us.” I motion around the room. The pews lay destroyed. We have only candles to guide us through our darkness. No one else is even here. There used to be dozens of us. We’re fortunate that the Queen hasn’t destroyed us all in her outrage.

Choir scoffs. “That is your own doing. If you hadn’t foolishly ignored our Queen’s guidance, none of this would have happened.”

“How can you say that when so many of us, all your friends, succumbed to the corruption she spreads?” I approach her and peer under her faithless armor deep into her yellow eyes. She stares back at me, her brow furrowing.

“Fennel, as your older sister, I love you. And I worry that your hatred for me now is misplaced.” In her arrogance, she tilts her head upward slightly, looking down on me. “The Queen saves us from the cruel fate we would otherwise meet and brings us into our next life. Lord Esselin has done nothing of the sort.”

I mustn’t allow myself to believe the lies she spits. “I think it’s time you left, Choir. You clearly have no intention other than to defile this place.”

She just stares into my eyes for a moment before her gaze softens. “As you wish.” She turns to leave. Her yellow hair swishes in front of my face, brushing my nose. “But Fennel. Don’t blame me when everything you worship here falls to your so-called corruption.” As she exits, the golden clacking heels of hers pierce my eardrums.

Where did she come to these beliefs? Can she not see the horrible torture the accurst Queen is putting her subjects through? This isn’t like her. Has she become corrupted as well? Oh, my dear sister. I will pray for your safety. That you might find yourself again. That you return to Lord Esselin’s graces.

The tissue still clutched in my fist has crumpled, stained a deep purple with the Queen’s disgusting “guidance”. I kneel again before the altar, clasping my hands together. My white hair flows in front of my eyes. I say a prayer, and the tissue slowly fades back to its original white, its creases disappear. My Lord, I am thankful.

* * *

There have been talks of how the darkness has spread to the lands outside of the Kingdom of Karth. How the Queen has been growing increasingly mad with power as her own corruption is taking over her mind. The citizens of Karth City are dwindling even still. Is there no way to put an end to this cruel fate?

As I arrange a circle of candles in the cathedral for prayer, I do not feel the presence of my Lord. All around me is the shadow of what once was a thriving faith, only the shine of these candles I have lit is here to guide me. I look to the stained-glass window above, illuminated solely by the moonlight. Portraits of Lord Esselin’s saints in white surround him in a circle, each one bearing red hair and a golden cloak. _My Lord, if you are watching me now, grant me your strength._

There are only a handful of us left in the monastery. The corruption continues to claim more of us. One is still taking donations at the monastery entrance. What is this all for? My sister has abandoned the faith and hasn’t even entered the cathedral in a month. I haven’t left in that amount of time. Maybe more. I can’t tell. If Lord Esselin believes I have lost faith, then I will have nothing left.

As I kneel in the center of my candle arrangement, crickets chirp outside. Even the crackle from these tiny flames echoes off the walls. The light emitted from them is enough for me to see my reflection in the waxed tile floor of the cathedral. The veins in my eyes burn red, and the dark bags underneath them grow heavy. My silver hair is a tangled mess, drifting below my face, nearly singed from the proximity to the flames. The long white dress I wear is tearing, small holes eating the fabric away.

A single statue of Lord Esselin stands intact before me. But even he cannot withstand the dire state our world is in. The robe covering him flows as if wind were blowing through here. His face is clean, though his eyes stare blankly at nothing. Cracks show on his arms and up to his neck, and chunks of marble missing from his shoulders and arms. Fingers that chipped off lie in pieces at the statue’s base. In all my time spent devoted to him, even I’m not enough to be a worthy Pardoner.

The red rapier at my side is sheen with polish. I keep it with me in the event that one of the fallen breaches the monastery. That has yet to happen. I hope to never see the day it does.

They say a priestess from Lun is traveling all the way here to request an audience with the Queen to put an end to this darkness that plagues all our lands. Does she not know of the state she is in? I will pray for her to not succumb the way most of us have.

I place my hands on my knees before the statue and bow my head. _Lord Esselin, please keep a watchful eye over the Lun priestess and ensure she may end all of our suffering._ I receive no acknowledgement from the Lord. That’s how it’s been of late. No answer to my prayers. But I know he must be listening. He wouldn’t abandon his faithful.

The loud ringing of the church bell rips me from my reverie. So the priestess has arrived sooner than I realized. I do hope the corruption has not spread to her. And I pray if it has.

* * *

A familiar yet striking clicking echoes through the cathedral, invading my ears. The footsteps stop some distance behind me. I stand to greet her still facing Lord Esselin’s statue, “The Queen destroyed this kingdom’s faith.” The priestess responds with silence. “This convent, our abode, is all that’s left for those who pray.” I snap to look over my shoulder to accept the sight of the priestess from Lun. She dons a white hooded cloak lined with red, pinned together with a red kerchief. Underneath, she wears a plain black dress, accented by red stockings. The source of the unwelcome clicking is a pair of black short-heeled shoes. In her hand she wields nothing but a maple leaf. I’d heard legends of the Lun priestesses, but I’d never thought them to be true. “Maiden in white… You are not one of us. Perhaps you are siding with the Queen? Look at what she’s done to this kingdom!” Again, she stands still.

I whip around to face her fully, swishing my rapier in front of me, extending it to meet her eyes. “It is my duty to expurge that evil!” I reach for the heavens, and a crackle, tingling feeling emerges from my fingertips as I call bolts of lightning down upon her. She rolls toward me, dodging the strike, and slashes upward with her leaf, colliding directly with my jaw. When the blow lands, I’m pushed backwards. I plant my feet to regain balance, and charge back at her, swinging my blade once, twice. The first blow lands, making a small cut in her cloak, but yet again she rolls in my direction, managing to get behind me. Her leaf collides with my spine and sends me stumbling forward.

I turn back to face the intruder. Hand to the sky, I pull down yet another set of pillars of electricity. If I can manage to land a single strike on her, she will be left defenseless. The flash is nearly blinding as it meets the ground between the priestess and I. The ground shakes and she is left stunned in place. Now is my chance. I lunge toward her, thrusting my rapier forward. As soon as I’ve made contact, she steps back, holding her hand to her bicep, where I struck her. Red liquid seeps between her fingers. She reaches into her cloak and pulls out a green flower with a golden bell in the center, crushing it in her fist. A white light emerges from her fist and swirls around her. Her bleeding stops, and she stands tall. Dammit!

_My Lord, grant me your strength!_ I slide my hand along the edge of my blade, forming a cut in my palm. The rapier emits a slight blue glow, a low hum, and for the first time in months, I feel Esselin’s presence here in this monastery. I swipe at the priestess, cutting into her ribs, forcing a gash just below her breasts. She loses her balance for a moment, teetering on one foot.

_Curse you!_ Leaping into the air, my hair trails behind me, and my dress blows from the draft I’ve created. When I land in front of her, blue and purple light splashes around us, and twirls to hover around her. When she next reaches for another flower, she tries to crush it again, only to be met with the realization that she can’t. _Lord Esselin, with your guidance, I will expel this heretic from your deserved holy place and purge the land of its corruption!_

The priestess quickly realizes I’ve placed a curse on her, tossing the flower to the ground. She rolls behind me again, and something pierces my shoulder. A thin arrow sticks out from the fresh wound, and the maiden holds a bow. She’s somehow managed to match every one of my blows with one of her own, as if in a dance. I’ve had enough. She must not be allowed to desecrate this monastery any further.

I dig my feet into the cathedral floor once again, before charging at the priestess, targeting her throat with my rapier. She pulls back her bowstring and releases another arrow, thrust into my other shoulder. I don’t let it stop me. I have to put an end to this now. My rapier is only inches away from piercing her when she rolls behind me for the final time, slashing the skin on my back, releasing more of my blood.

I wail as I collapse onto my hands and knees. “Why…? My Lord…” _Why has the Queen forsaken us? Why must this imposter maiden defile everything we’ve built? Why must I always fail you?_ My body grows lighter as my vision grows darker. _Choir. I’m sorry. I’m sorry I could not stop her from reaching your Queen. I’m sorry you could not be here with me now. I’m sorry I never told you how much I love you._ I resign and relax my muscles. It appears I now must leave. Better at the hands of a priestess sworn to cleansing the world of this evil than to succumb to it. I tire as I drift away, slowly, into the air. Finally to meet Lord Esselin.

**Author's Note:**

> This piece was especially fun for me considering how little there is to work with in RUtM. I wanted to challenge myself to convert the events of the game into written fiction while also delving into my favorite boss from the game. It was also fun to turn a video game boss fight into a written fight scene from the perspective of the boss. Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed!


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